


Claustrophobic

by Climbergirlio



Category: Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-08 00:51:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21467335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Climbergirlio/pseuds/Climbergirlio
Summary: A trip to Wellakah takes a bad turn and leaves Dairine imprisoned by one of Roshaun’s enemies.Brief descriptions of violence and psychological torture.
Relationships: Dairine Callahan/Roshaun ke Nelaid, Miril am Miril dev ir Nuiiliat/Nelaid ke Seriv, Nita Callahan/Kit Rodriguez
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	Claustrophobic

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry in advance for the torture scene, I know it’s unrealistic, but it helps to move the story forward.

“I'm leaving for Wellakh!” Dairine called out.

“Make sure you come back!” Nita responded. 

“Eventually, yeah,” she yelled carelessly, heading out and towards her dad’s shop. 

The walk over was peaceful, and Dairine was fairly calm. Tonight was a rehearsal for a gala of sorts that was happening tomorrow. The way Dairine understood it, it was a bit like a rehearsal for a wedding, where speeches were rehearsed, and timing was worked out. She figured it would be a good idea to go and get a general idea of what to do before she was expected to know in front of Wellakh’s most prestigious people. She explained this briefly to her father and then stepped through the worldgate. 

The bright light of Thahit greeted her as she stepped through. Lady Miril was there to meet her, and the two discussed in more detail what the proceedings would be like. Before they could get too far into the details though, Lady Miril was called away to make some final touches on the menu. 

“Your outfit is waiting for you in your rooms, as well as attendants should you need them,” Lady Miril told her as she was whisked away.

Dairine nodded and waved, and then began walking to her room. On the way she passed the offices. She heard a door close behind her and turned around. Roshaun was standing there, looking a bit worn.

Her face cracked into a smile, and she paused, “I thought for sure I wouldn't see you until the rehearsal.”

“Such assumptions are dangerous,” he said jokingly, running a hand tiredly through his hair. Dairine took notice of the fact that he was doing this more often around her lately, actually showing signs of fatigue. When she first met him, she was sure nobody would ever see something like that from him. He hadn’t even been back that long, only about three Earth weeks, but already they had fallen back into an easy partnership.

“I was just headed to my room to relax a bit and get changed,” Dairine said.

Roshaun laughed a bit, “it won't take that long.”

“It certainly seems like it does,” Dairine groaned. Then, remembering, Dairine reached into her other space pocket, and pulled out some lollipops, “I brought these for you, since you eat them obsessively.”

He gave her his superior frown.

She simply rolled her eyes at him.

“At least I'm not half the size of everyone else,” he taunted.

“Hey! I may be small, but I pack a punch.”

There was a squeal of an approaching air car, interrupting the conversation. Both Dairine and Roshaun turned towards it. An attendant stepped down.

“I have been ordered to take you to your rooms, miss,” the attendant said. 

Dairine shrugged and jumped in, giving Roshaun a slight wave. Someone else was already talking to him. She turned her attention to the burned landscape as it flew past. Something clamped around her right wrist, and a wizardry slipped from her mouth as quickly as she turned towards her attacker. 

To her great surprise, it didn't work. Her moment of surprise was all her attacker needed. He jumped on her, pinning her to the ground. Despite a valiant effort, Dairine couldn’t get loose. He was bigger and stronger than her. 

“Ah a fierce little one. No wonder The Sunlord cares for you so. I wonder what he'd be willing to give to get you back.” Dairine spit in his face, “The Sunlord’s first priority is his planet, and he is not very easily bullied. Especially not by the likes of you.”

“We'll see,” the attacker laughed, and another person came over, uncorking a bottle under Dairine’s nose. She tried desperately not to breathe, but eventually she had to and almost immediately began losing consciousness.

Dairine awoke to a very faint light, and immediately tried to sit up. Her head hit the ceiling almost immediately. It was then that she noticed her surroundings. She was lying in a white tube, and there was barely a centimeter of space in any direction around her. Normally, Dairine wasn't prone to panicking, but she had never liked small spaces. She felt like she was in a coffin. She couldn't move her hands or feet at all. Her wizardry had been cut off by the metal clamp currently digging into her skin. A gag had been shoved in her mouth and she couldn’t take it out. As hard as she tried to keep her cool, her breathing became sporadic. She was completely contained in a coffin like hole. She started choking on the gag. 

~*~

After Dairine left to go change, Roshaun dealt with many more last minute seating arrangements, music choices, napkin colors and everything in between. He was half expecting Dairine to turn up again, but when she didn't he figured she must be with his mother. He ignored the little pang of sadness. He continued answering questions and making decisions for an exhaustingly long time. Naturally, when a letter arrived he was in no mood to actually read it.

“But, sir, who knows what it may say,” the servant said.

Roshaun sighed, “read it to me.”

“Yes sir. The letter begins: Dear Sunlord, I am writing to inform you that in a sunround the little alien you are so fond of will no longer exist unless you follow my specific instructions-”

At this point Roshaun had jumped up and torn the letter out of the servant’s hands. He scanned the rest of it. It continued to say that in order for Dairine to be returned alive, he needed to give up the sunstone and the kingship publicly. It also mentioned that Dairine had been stripped of her wizardry. Roshaun immediately rushed off to find his parents, messaging them to meet him in his chambers.

He paced nervously back and forth, before his parents both entered at once. He could see the look of displeasure written on his father’s face, and confusion on his mother’s.

“Roshaun, whyever did you summon us? You ought to be preparing for the festivities today and tomorrow.”

In response, he simply handed her the letter. 

Lady Miril finished reading and looked up worriedly, “something like this happened when your father first announced he was courting me. I was taken hostage, knocked unconscious and held in a cell.”

“But we cannot be sure that this letter tells the truth,” Nelaid reasoned, “we must check to see if Dairine has actually been taken, and take action accordingly. If they really do want you to give up the throne, they will wait.”

“In the meantime, I shall go check with the servants tasked with helping Dairine with her dress. She was on her way there when I was called off,” Lady Miril said.

Roshaun nodded, “I shall come with you. She was bound there via aircar.”

“Then I shall check the record of air cars,” Nelaid said, “if we find anything troubling, searching will begin immediately.”

Miril nodded and made her way swiftly from the room. Roshaun followed the brisk pace she was setting easily. Miril sighed worriedly. “I should have known something like this would happen. We should have been more careful.”

“There is nothing we can change now,” Roshaun reassures her, trying to sound much calmer than he was feeling. 

They arrived at the door to Dairine's room. Miril opened it. The servants, who had been lounging in a circle, stood to attention quickly. Dairine’s dress was still hanging in the air, waiting for her. Worry hit Roshaun like a punch in the gut, but he kept his composure and face passive.

“Have any of you seen Lady Dairine?” Miril asked.

“No, ma’am. She never came by to get dressed. We have been waiting as instructed,” a girl said.

Roshaun looked at his mother, worry evident in his eyes. Her eyes, too, were very concerned. 

“Thank you for your assistance, but we no longer are in need of your service here. If you could head to the kitchens, I am sure there is much work to be done there,” Miril told them.

The girls stood and bowed, then hurried from the room. 

“Come, Roshaun let us find your father. We need to find out what happened in that aircar,” Miril said, hurrying from the room.

Roshaun followed her as they headed towards where they knew Nelaid would be, the records room. Normally, they would take an aircar, but there was a sort of unspoken distrust of them at the moment, so they merely hurried through the palace. After what seemed like ages, they finally made it to the record room. Nelaid was talking to a man, a potent frown on his face. Worry spiked through Roshaun once more. Nelaid’s frown deepened as his conversation continued, and Lady Miril motioned for Roshaun to follow her out of the room. A servant rushed up to Roshaun. 

“Sir, I have another letter for you,” the servant said.

Roshaun pretended to be nonplussed, “Yes, thank you,” he took it from the servant. 

“Sir, about the last message that you received-“

“It was a poorly orchestrated scheme to get me to hand over the crown, nothing more. Lady Dairine is safe and well,” he said to the man.

“But, Your Majesty, the letter clearly said that she is not, and this letter says that as well.”

Instantly, Roshaun hit the man with a freezing spell. Miril turned with a surprised look to Roshaun. Roshaun, in turn was glaring at the man.

“Your Majesty, I am only concerned for the wellbeing of the alien you are so enamored with,” the servant spluttered. 

“First off, do not refer to the Lady Dairine as ‘The Alien’. She is a talented wizard and an ambassador from Earth. Second off, the letter was sealed. Even if you had already looked at the letter, I would be able to tell. That means you know the contents of the letter without having to open it, meaning you were involved in the abduction of Dairine.”

Lady Miril gave him a cold look, “I shall be sending you to the dungeons.” She then pulled out a set of metal cuffs from her otherspace pocket, and clamped them tightly on, effectively stopping all his hand movements until she released him. 

Nelaid and the man he had been talking to came out then. Nelaid put up his eyebrows, but made no comment. The man he had been talking to followed Lady Miril’s instructions and took the messenger man to the dungeons. The rest of them headed back to Roshaun’s chambers. The walk there was quiet and tense. They all knew for certain Dairine was missing now, but it was best to discuss things such as that in private. The less people that knew, the better. That was the case for most things on Wellakh. 

They finally arrived in his rooms. Nelaid shut the door with a decisive click. Roshaun then got out his pup tent, which Dairine had suggested they turn into a meeting place to be more sure their conversations were private. The inside of the pup tent was more bare now too, also courtesy of Dairine. She had been bored one day and gone through it. Roshaun honestly had no idea where she had put most of the stuff that was in there, but she had brought in a table big enough for four that Nelaid and Miril were now seated at. Roshaun sat down too. The empty chair drew all of their eyes towards it. Roshaun ignored the worry that had clambered up his throat and swallowed, then opened the letter.

He read it aloud, “Sunlord, you now know that your little alien ‘friend’ is missing. You get to choose, her or your kingship.”

Roshaun opened the letter more. Enclosed was a picture of Dairine, completely encased in white. She was clearly trying to hide it, but Roshaun knew her well enough to see the fear in her eyes. There was a gag in her mouth, and her hands and feet were tied down. 

Miril gave a gasp, “I’ve seen that cuff before.” She pointed to the metal cuff that was encircling Dairine’s wrist. 

“What is it?” Roshaun asked.

“It’s a spell, more or less. It’s designed to strip wizards of their wizardry, and give it to someone else, so long as the cuff is on the wizard. At least, in theory. Obviously, it doesn’t work well at all, and it’s very risky. I’d never have thought that anyone would dare try to use one.”

Nelaid looked worried, “we have to find her. We don’t have any other options.”

Miril wrung her hands, “even if you did give them what they wanted, they would never give her up.”

Roshaun looked over at his mother, “do you know who might have possession of one of those such devices?”

She paused, thinking, “they’d have to have a lot of money. That narrows down our options a bit. Obviously, it’s someone who doesn’t have the kindest feelings for the sunlords.”

“That much is indeed obvious,” Roshaun said, running his hands through his hair. It was a habit he had picked up from Dairine, who did it all the time. 

There was a moment of tense silence. 

Miril, who had been staring at the photo, suddenly stood up, “these people…their attempted manipulation of you, Roshaun, is their downfall. Look,” she pointed to the cuff on Dairine’s wrist. At first, Roshaun wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be so happy about. Then, he noticed it. Barely perceptible ‘tags’ that would hopefully tell them something about where the cuff was created. 

“Is there a way to enlargen this?” Roshaun asked.

Nelaid made the yes gesture, “I should be able to do that.” He did a simple spell and a zoomed in photo of the cuff appeared on the table. 

Miril stood resolutely, “I’ll ask one of my contacts who is good with wizardry blocking devices. They might know who would have one,” she paused, looking back at Roshaun, “you will have to continue on with your duties. To not do so would raise suspicion. And, if you act like you don’t care, hopefully they will send you more photos so we can get a clearer look at that cuff.”

Roshaun gave her a simple nod, agreeing. 

She hugged him, “we’ll find her, tekeh, don’t worry.”

They then all left the puptent and Roshaun’s room.  
  
  
~*~

Dairine had managed to calm herself down. She convinced herself that it was no worse than getting an MRI. Claustrophobia was no big deal, she’d been through worse. She’d be out soon. Hopefully. _ Dammit, Roshaun, where are you? _

She had little hope that he would hear her. After all, her wizardry was gone and she had no idea where she was. She could be in the next galaxy for all she knew. For whatever reason, though, she doubted that. Maybe it was because she had gotten used to Wellakh and knew what it felt like. She wasn’t completely sure. 

“You enjoying your new home?” a voice Dairine assumed belonged her abducter questioned. 

She glared at the ceiling. 

“Ah, that’s right. The gag. Well now that I have your power, I can simply disappear that.”

True to his word, the gag disappeared. Dairine proceeded to curse him out. 

“Ah, ah. That’s not very nice now, is it? It’s really too bad we can’t be civil. I didn’t want to have to do this, but I guess now I’ll have to send your precious Sunlord a video of you screaming in pain.”

Dairine glared at the ceiling again, “you underestimate him. His planet comes before everything else. I am only an ambassador from Earth. I am inconsequential.”

He laughed an evil laugh, “that’s where you’re wrong. He’s in love with you.”

Dairine summoned her most uncaring tone possible, “no, he’s not.”

The man only said, “we’ll see about that.” 

The small chamber began filling with clouds of some sort of drug. It clawed at Dairine’s eyes, as if a thousand tiny knives were scratching them. She willed herself not to scream, knowing he would only use that to hurt Roshaun. The chamber slowly began closing in more on her, and she knew it was an illusion, but she couldn’t help but be freaked out by it anyways. Slowly, the chamber began swimming before her eyes.

When Dairine came to, she was on a black plane. Dairine saw all the people she cared for there. She tried to run towards them, but she was being held back. Somewhere in the back of her head that made sense for some reason. She had a fleeting memory of being imprisoned in a white tunnel. But just as quickly as as it was there, it was gone. 

Roshaun was the first to notice her, “Dairine! We’ve been waiting for you!”

She blinked, “why?”

Dairine’s mother gestured to the bonds that held all of them.

Dairine made to run to them again, but again she couldn’t move. Suddenly, a fireball came hurtling through the skies. It hit Filif, and he caught fire. Dairine screamed and struggled against the force holding her back with all her might. As she struggled, he continued burning. Finally, only ash remained. From the ages rose a spectral version of his lifeform, and he floated over to her side. It brought her some comfort to know he wasn’t truly gone. Filif’s spirit had barely appeared at Dairine’s side when Carmela fell to the ground. Immediately, thousands of tiny bugs crawled on her and began eating her alive. Dairine kept struggling, horrified. If she could just get out she could save them. She tried to think of a spell that would work, but suddenly the words didn’t make sense. 

She was too late. The only thing left of Carmela was bones, picked clean, and two eyeballs. Dairine retched while Carmela, too, became merely a shade. 

As if that wasn’t enough, the sound of a gunshot ran out. Miril fell to the ground. Another gunshot, and Nelaid fell as well. Dairine screamed again, putting all her weight against whatever was holding her. More gunshots ran out, landing in the already fallen Miril and Nelaid. When they finally stopped, the bodies were unrecognizable. Dairine hadn’t even fully processed the events before the air began to take on a strange scent. Her eyes widened with recognition, and she continued screaming.

Roshaun went on with the preparations, ordering people about and acting as if nothing was wrong. His mother came rushing into the room. 

“Roshaun! My tekeh, you haven’t checked over the food yet!”

“My apologies. I will go with you immediately.”

She lead the way out of the room, and activated a transportation spell. Seconds later they were in Roshaun’s room. A letter had been shoved under his door. He inhaled sharply, picking it up. His mother stepped into the pup tent. She sat down on a couch, and Roshaun sat on one across from her. 

“We believe we found who made the cuff. Emelda, that wizard who was found dead 20 sunrounds ago. We assume she must have been taken prisoner somehow and forced to make the cuff. It would explain the odd circumstances around her death. As for who the actual abductor is, just 10 sunrounds before Emelda’s death that, a man named Venil ke Tuyyke left the planet without officially stating where he was going, as is law. Not too long after that, a attendant from the interplanetary transportation center took a job here as a mail-deliverer. Also 12 sunrounds before that, Venil purchased a large expanse of land on the burned half of the planet. Again, the location was not officially recorded.”

“If it wasn’t recorded, then how will we find it?” Roshaun asked.

“It wasn’t officially recorded. The land seller took a bribe from the man to delay the recording until a date Venil claimed to be his daughter’s birthday. He had told the man that the land was a gift to his daughter who loved geology, but he didn’t want her to find out and go out there before her birthday.”

Roshaun groaned, “he gave her birthday as tomorrow, I’d guess?”

“Yes. But when I came into his office, he happily told me where the land is.”

Roshaun stood, “then let’s go!”

She shook her head sadly, “like I said, he bought vast expanses of land. By the time we searched them all, it would be too late. Nelaid is working on a way to track the cuff, but it is hard without knowing exactly what to track. Which reminds me, why don’t you read the letter?”

Roshaun opened it slowly, with shaking hands. 

“Tick tock,” he read. 

A paper slipped out and onto the ground. Roshaun bent and picked it up. A video of Dairine began playing. She was screaming and pulling so hard against her restraints that they had cut deeply into her wrists and ankles. Her eyes were blown wide in terror, but she didn’t seem to be seeing the room itself. Roshaun turned to his mother, distressed. She took the paper from his hands, and did a spell to make it walk-in. Roshaun looked at his mother in horror. 

“We have to look for clues, tekeh,” she explained.

Roshaun nodded, and walked over to where Dairine was screaming. His mother walked over, too. She gestured to the air around them, “she’s being drugged.” Roshaun nodded. He’d seen that as well. She went over and examined the cuff on Dairine’s wrist. Roshaun stared intently at the cuff. 

“There,” he pointed to a small tag that was unfamiliar, “that tag there, that’s got to be his name. We could combine that with Dairine’s name.”

His mother looked at it carefully, “you’re right,” she confirmed, “but we would need to have Dairine’s name.”

“I have that,” Roshaun told her, ending the walk-in. 

He picked up the video and put it in his otherspace pocket. He turned back to his mother, seeing her staring at him in shock.

“What?” he asked.

“You have Dairine’s name?!?”

He shifted, uncomfortable, “yes. It’s kind of a long story.”

She dropped the subject, “let’s go find your father.” 

Sker’ret was on the ground writhing in pain. The bug poison stopping his ability to breathe. Dairine’s screams were silent, tears tracing her cheeks. 

By this point, Dairine had realized that unless she could get free, everyone in front of her would die and become a spirit. The remaining people, Nita, Kit, her parents, Roshaun, Tom, Carl, and Ronan, did not seem to have knowledge of the fate of their previous companions. Indeed, as Ronan began to split in half, none of the others seemed to notice. Dairine was not so lucky. She watched Ronan accept his fate grimly. 

Tom and Carl were the next, they seemed to be possessed by an unknown force. They turned on each other, and began doing spells that Dairine was sure were not meant to be used. At this point, Dairine had been completely overcome by the horror of her situation and she just began weeping. 

“Stop!” Dairine sobbed, “please stop. Kill me instead.”

The higher beings evidently did not hear her as Kit’s eyes rolled back in his head. His mouth began foaming and his eyes dripped blood. Nita fell too, and exhibited the same symptoms. Dairine’s screams resurfaced as she felt like her insides were being ripped out. That was her big sister. Her pulling at the restraints was as hard as she could. She _ had _ to save Nita. She had to. She tried kicking, but it did no use, her sister turned a sickly grey color and took her last gasping breath. The blood still dropped from both Nita and Kit’s eyes. She didn’t even notice Nita and Kit’s spirits join the crowd behind her. 

Dairine barely noticed the pain in her throat as she screamed and screamed, overcome with grief at all of her loved ones who had died tortuous deaths. Dairine knew in her heart who would be next. Her mother’s eyes began to dim, losing the life they had been granted. Dairine saw in an accelerated time frame, the cancer take over her mother’s body. Dairine didn’t scream, her silent tears leaking from her eyes. She had made her peace with her mother’s passing now, she would never be okay with it, but she had finally gone back to living. It still hurt her to see her once more depart the living realm. 

Her dad had noticed her mom’s death. 

“Betty,” he cried. He sat at her side, sobbing. Dairine sobbed with him. In his grief, he didn’t notice the poisoned plant behind him, and he sat back, impaling himself on it. He cried out in pain as the poison worked its way through his body, turning his blood black. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Dairine thought that the poison should not have this drastic of an affect on him, but the scene in front of her changed her mind quickly. He laid in death next to his wife, together once more. 

Only one figure remained. Roshaun walked slowly towards her. Dairine watched him, tears still streaming down her face. 

“You could have saved them,” Roshaun murmured, “why didn’t you?”

“I tried,” she sobbed.

He stroked her hair gently, comforting her. She only sobbed louder. 

“We can still save them,” he told her, gesturing to the ghosts, “after all, they’re still with us.” 

“How?” she didn’t dare hope.

Roshaun turned to what remained of their friends and family. He began reciting a spell, and the wisps of figures began to turn once more solid. Almost as soon as everyone was back and Dairine was turning joyously to Roshaun, he collapsed to the ground. A deep gash had appeared at his temple, and his lips had lost their color. He didn’t scream, or shout, or even show any sign of pain. 

Dairine screamed loud enough for the both of them, though. It seemed like she had only just gotten him back. She screamed as though it was her undergoing all that pain, and she nearly felt like it, too. She screamed and screamed, even after he had disappeared. He hadn’t come back at all, not even as a ghost. She vaguely realized Nita was at her side, but the events of the day had completely and totally come over her. She couldn’t have stopped screaming if she tried. In her mind, each person’s death replayed over and over, and it culminated with Roshaun’s sacrifice. 

~*~

Roshaun followed his mother out of the room, nearly running into his father’s personal servant. 

“Do you know where my husband is?” Roshaun’s mother asked.

“Oh yes, my lady, I was actually going to visit him myself. You may simply accompany me.”

Roshaun sent his mother a look. He had been hoping to simply use a transport spell to get there so they could get there sooner. She gave him a pained smile and simply made small talk and set a brisk pace. Roshaun was far too worried to be able to say anything. It was a terrible feeling, this all-consuming fear. Even his extensive training in schooling his face into being emotionless was not enough to keep the small signs of fright from his features. 

After what seemed like ages, they finally arrived at his father’s office. He came out just as they arrived.

“Miril, Roshaun. I was just about to come find you,” Nelaid greeted.

He nodded to his servant, “if you could give us a moment.” 

The servant bowed and left the room. Nelaid locked the door using a wizardry. Roshaun was just about to open the pup tent when a letter appeared out of midair in front of him. He snatched it, opened the pup tent and stalked in. He didn’t wait to see if his parents had followed him before he opened the envelope. 

“I see you haven’t yet done as I’ve asked. Time is running out. Your little friend is not quite as durable as Wellakhit are, and I fear that the next treatment I have planned for her may shorten your time by half a sun round.” Roshaun murmured the words as he read them. 

There was once more a video of Dairine. She was no longer struggling against the bonds, and Roshaun could see the depth of the cuts, which were still dripping red blood. She was still screaming, though. In fact the screaming was louder and more laden with pain than before. Tear tracts were dry on her face. She had been crying. Her eyes were still open, and still did not seem to be seeing the limited space in front of her, but this time they looked almost dead. 

Roshaun looked up. His parents had been watching over his shoulder. “We have to find her,” he told them, desperate.

“We will,” his father assured him. 

They all began work on the tracking spell. No one spoke for the duration of the time it took to build the wizardry. Roshaun took Dairine’s name from the chain around his neck and placed it in the spell. His mother did not comment on it, but Roshaun knew that when Dairine was safe she would ask about it. 

“I think it’s ready,” Miril told them.

Roshaun nodded. 

  
  


“Did you enjoy the show?” a voice asked, coming from all around Dairine.

“Bring him back,” she sobbed.

“You see, I can’t do that. You were both tricked by the visions of your family dying. So blinded by love you couldn’t see the falsehood,” he made a disappointed tsk, “and here I thought wizards were supposed to be something special. No matter, you served your purpose. You see, I needed the young king to take his own life. I gave him a spell I knew would do just that, but disguised it as a spell to return spirits to to their material bodies. I knew he’d use it the moment he saw your distress, without doing his usual checks.” 

He laughed evilly, “it worked too.”

“Bring him back!” Dairine shouted. 

“Gladly.”

Something sharp pricked her arm and a few moments later, the scene in front of her shimmered and morphed into a plane of complete darkness. About a fifty yards off was a shape Dairine assumed to be Roshaun. She ran towards him, and flung herself on the ground next to him, feeling for a pulse. There was none. 

They all stepped out from the pup tent and began reciting the wizardry. In the blink of an eye, they were in an underground cavern. A man sat in a strange chair. 

“Ah my dearest Sunlord, I must admit I didn’t expect to see you.”

“Before you attempt to blackmail both a powerful wizard and the king of this planet, you should learn to cover your tracks better,” Roshaun smiled tightly. 

Several things then happened at once. The man punched a switch, Nelaid and Miril both hit him with creative freezing spells, and Dairine began convulsing from electric shocks. Roshaun sprinted over to the switch the man flipped and turned it off. The electric shocks stopped. He began frantically searching for whatever was pumping the drugs into the chamber Dairine was in. He had some idea of Nelaid taking the other side of the cuff off of the man and transporting the both of them away. He finally found the switch.

“How do we open it?” he asked his mother.

She was examining the chamber, which they could see into, but Dairine couldn’t seem to see out of. She tapped a button on the side. The sides melted away. Roshaun rushed over, feeling for a pulse. Thankfully, it was there, if a bit weaker than normal. She had stopped screaming when the electric shocks had begun, and now she was lying on the table, seemingly peaceful. Roshaun barely registered his mother murmuring the words to transport all of them back to the palace. 

When they arrived, he helped his mother carefully move Dairine to his bed. They were in his room as less people tended to go in there and it was much more secure. It wasn’t long after Nelaid had returned and Miril had finished tending to the wounds on Dairine’s ankles and wrists that Dairine finally began to stir. Roshaun immediately rushed over. At first, Dairine remained groggy, the drug obviously not quite worn off. After a few moments, though, she sat bolt upright, and began frantically looking around the room. Her eyes landed on Roshaun.

“You’re alive,” she breathed, and she started sobbing. 

Roshaun sat down next to her on the bed and hugged her tightly. “I’m alive,” he reassured her. He sent comforting thoughts her way, and she relaxed back into him. Like this, she seemed so breakable, not at all like the Dairine Roshaun was so used to. He wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. 

“I’m going to go find the physician,” Miril announced, looking to Dairine for confirmation. 

Dairine nodded in her people’s way of expressing consent. 

When his mother closed the door, Roshaun began threading his hand through Dairine’s tangled red hair. They were both quiet for a good while, neither knowing what to say. 

Dairine broke the silence, “is this real?”

“Yes,” he assured her.

She shook her head softly, “you were _ dead. _ You were dead and it was my fault.”

Roshaun didn’t say anything.

She turned to face him, “you were laying on the ground, and you had this horrible gash across your forehead here,” she reached out and traced a line on his temple, “and it made me realize…” She broke off and looked away from him.

A moment passed, “you scare me, Roshaun,” Dairine whispered, so quiet Roshaun could barely hear.

“I-“ Roshaun was cut off by two sharp knocks on the door. 

Both he and Dairine startled, “enter,” he called.

It was his mother and the physician. Lady Miril rushed to Dairine’s side, and the physician immediately began tending to the wounds on Dairine’s wrists. Dairine looked like she wanted to complain, but instead she simply sat up straight and let the physician work. That only served to make Roshaun more worried as Dairine was rarely cooperative, and for her to not complain, she must have had to be in a lot of pain. The physician continued examining Dairine, testing for all sorts of different things Roshaun knew nothing about. Finally, she was done. 

“The young lady seems to have a multitude of drugs in her system. As she is not Wellakhit, I do not know exactly what they will do to her, but my best guess is that it will make her significantly more emotional that typical, making the whole experience far more traumatic while the drugs are in effect. I also would guess that the drugs are acting as a pain reducer, and you will feel only a portion of the pain you should be.”

“How long until the drugs wear off?” Lady Miril asked.

“A few sunrounds. At most, probably 5.”

“5?!?!” Dairine gasped, albeit more weakly than normal, “but I have school in two days and I can’t go if I’m hyped up on drugs.”

“Well I do not suggest going,” the physician said.

Dairine shook her head, “I have to. I’ve taken a fair amount of school off in the past years and I need to show up or my father will be in trouble.” 

“I anticipate you having severe “flashbacks” while the drugs remain in your system, where you will see yourself back in the drug induced visions your torturer created.”

Dairine shivered, and the haunted look returned to her eyes, “is there not anything that could prevent that?”

The physician made a “no” gesture, “unfortunately not. It’s also probably best you don’t do any transits or wizardry in general until the drugs leave your system.” 

Dairine looked like she would have liked to say something, but Roshaun’s mom jumped in before she could, “thank you so much Yelsey. We will call you if anything changes.”

“Rest up,” the physician ordered before leaving the room.

As soon as she was gone, Dairine turned to Miril, “I have to be back on my planet by Monday for school. If I’m not, my dad will be in trouble. I’ve missed too many days as it is.”

“Nelaid was dealing with your abductor, but he was going to get your dad when he was done. We can discuss solutions when he gets here. In the meantime, we will operate on the assumption that you are staying here for a while. Roshaun, you will still need to attend the rehearsal tonight.”

“Mother-”

“No, Roshaun, she’s right. And I should go as well.”

“Absolutely not.”

“The people already know I’m going to be there tomorrow. If I’m not there, it will only fuel the rumors that have probably already started about me being abducted. And I’ll need to know what’s going to happen.”

“You were just entrapped and tortured. You shouldn’t even move from this bed.”

“If it gets to be too much, I can always just transport myself back.”

Miril chimed in, “actually you can’t. You’ve just been drugged and had your wizardry removed by a risky spell. Until we find out what exactly that did to you, it’s safest if you don’t do any wizardry.” 

“Well then I won’t. You both know I need to be there, though, and the more we are sitting here and discussing it, the less time we have to get ready.”

“You shouldn’t have to get ready! No one would expect you to be there after what you’ve gone through.”

“And that’s exactly the point,” Dairine argued stubbornly, shifting off the bed, “no one would expect me to go.”

She pushes herself off the bed, wincing when she puts pressure on her wrists. She manages to stand fairly normally, though she looks far paler than normal and her face is tight with pain. She smiled reassuringly though.

“See? I’ll be fine. Lady Miril, do you have any makeup?” Dairine was looking down at her bandaged wrists.

His mother nodded her understanding. “I’ll see what I can find. Roshaun, get dressed and then go back out and finish the preparations. Dairine, sit back down while I’m gone. You shouldn’t be standing more than absolutely necessary.”

Dairine complied without complaint, which was worrying. Normally no one could tell Dairine to do anything. His mother went over to her and kissed her forehead gently. She then did the same to Roshaun. _ Make sure she is never alone _ , his mother instructed strictly. He nodded gently, showing his understanding. Then she left with a soft _ bang _ of displaced air. Roshaun went and sat on his bed next to Dairine. 

“Aren’t you meant to be getting ready?” Dairine asked, but she seemed grateful for his company. 

He ignored the question, “how are you doing? Really?”

“I’m okay right now. I just don’t want to think about it.” She reached a hand out, almost hesitantly, and began tracing a path across his arm and chest. When she realized he wasn’t going to stop her, her movements became more sure.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, “I just need to know this is real.”

“Don't apologize.” He shifted so his back was against the opulent frame and then pulled her back to him, wrapping an arm around her. She leaned back against him and traced the inside of his wrist lightly. 

“You should really be getting ready,” she murmurs. 

“I should,” he agrees. Neither of them make any attempt to move. 

They sit like that for a moment, completely at peace before the door to Roshaun’s room opens. Dairine startles at the noise, comparatively loud to the silence that had dominated the room, and grabs his hand. She drops it when she sees it’s only her sister, father, and Roshaun’s father as well. In fact, she rises off the bed and rushes to hug her sister. Nita looks a little stunned by the action but wraps her arms around the younger girl. 

“Powers, Dari. What happened?!” Nita asks.

Dairine moves to hug her father, so Roshaun answers for her, standing up off his bed, “she was abducted.”

He masks his surprise at the fact that Dairine had also hugged his father. Even though he had been back for some time now, he still hadn’t had much time to do anything but get caught up on kingly duties. Sometimes that had included time spent with both his parents and Dairine, but even then it was mostly political talk. 

He had known Dairine had gotten close with his parents while he had been...displaced, after all, his mother routinely called Dairine ‘daughter.’ He also knew she had been working with his father on the simulator, a training program she had been continuing while he was in meetings, and that he often referred to Dairine as his apprentice, but the way he so casually returned the embrace suggested it wasn’t the first time he had done so. It was odd. He certainly couldn’t complain, as the first time his father and Dairine had met, there had been some friction. This was a nice change. Indeed, his own relationship with his father was much less strained than it had been back then. 

“Aren’t you meant to be getting ready, Royal Son?” His father asked, though his tone was more amused than disapproving. 

“Yes father,” he couldn’t resist glaring at him slightly, especially noting Dairine’s amused glance. 

He went behind a curtain to change, hearing more than seeing his father leave the room to go get ready himself. 

“No Kit?” He hears Dairine ask. 

“No, Dair. We’re not attached at the hip you know.”

“You sure about that?” Dairine teases.

“I hope so.” Mr. Callahan says sharply.

“Relax, Daddy. Kit and I haven’t done anything like that with each other.” 

Roshaun feels Dairine’s skepticism and has the unfortunate pleasure of ‘overhearing’ a memory of Dairine finding her sister and Kit in an intimate moment. Mr. Callahan, though, seems to believe her. 

“Seriously, though, Dair, are you okay?” Roshaun pauses, wanting to hear the answer too. 

“I’m alright, all things considered.” 

“I must admit, when Nelaid arrived in my shop I was concerned. How long do you have to stay here?”

“Until the drugs leave my system and they know what exactly the effects of the wizardry removing spell are.” 

“What about school?” Dairine’s dad asks.

“I don’t know Daddy. I think they’re working on it.”

“We are,” Roshaun assured him, stepping out from behind the curtain, “we will do everything in our power to take care of all Dairine’s needs.”

Dairine rolled her eyes, “yes, yes, we know. Now go do your duties. I’ll be fine.”

He hadn’t realized until this moment how reluctant he was to leave her, “you’re sure you’re fine?”

“_ Yes. _ Now go on. You’re horribly behind schedule as is. And besides, you’ll know if I need you,” she taps her temple twice, indicating their bond. 

_ That didn’t work last time. _

_ Seriously, Ro. I’ll be fine. Your people need you. _

She’s right, of course. He ghosts his hands over her shoulders, then nods to her father and sister before leaving the room.

  
~*~  
  


Not very long at all after Roshaun left, Miril arrived with makeup to cover the deep gashes on Dairine’s arms and legs. Her dad looks concerned at the sight when Miril gently removes the bandages, but doesn’t say anything. Miril wraps a much thinner bandage over the wounds and then blends it in with her skin. The result is not quite perfect, but it’s very good. 

“You’ll be wearing a dress with sleeves long enough to cover this, so it’s really more of a precaution than anything.”

Dairine nodded.

“And you also won’t be wearing heels like we planned. It’ll be too much stress on your ankles, which are already weak.”

“I’ll be so much shorter than everyone else, though.”

“Dari, be reasonable. You obviously can’t wear heels. It’s crazy enough that you’re even still going to this thing at all,” Nita says.

“Precisely. Nita, would you be able to do her makeup?” Lady Miril asks, “I have an image of what it should look like for you. I just don’t have time to do it myself.”

“I can try. I must warn you, though, I’m no expert.”

“Whatever you can manage should be fine. This is only the rehearsal.”

“Alright runt. Come on over and let’s see what I can do.”

~*~  
  


Roshaun walked through the castle with some haste. He was loathe to use an aircar at the moment and didn’t want to be late for the rehearsal dinner. He was just about to round a corner when he heard the melodic voice of his mother.

“Those two,” she sounded amused, “Dairine could say jump and Roshaun would say ‘into what dimension?’”

“Oh I know. Dairine is the same way. After all, here we are just having sent her off to a dinner after being drugged and tortured.”

“They’re both so stubborn,” his mother sighed.

“I just hope for everyone’s sakes it doesn’t take them as long to figure out as it did Kit and I. If it does, we’re in for a long couple years.”

“Kit. That’s your partner, correct?”

“And my boyfriend, yeah. I’m actually supposed to be meeting him right about now actually, so I should be going.”

“I’ll show you back to the gate. It’s on my way.”

“Thanks. I’m afraid I’d get lost otherwise. This palace is like a maze.”

Roshaun quickly realized that they would round the corner and see him at the intersection so he quickly muttered the necessary words and appeared in a small chamber just outside the gathering room with only a soft clap of displaced air. His father was already there. 

“The proceedings have not been delayed too much and the guests were told there was a problem in the kitchens. Your mother had the forethought to actually put out the stoves when the whole situation happened. No one should be too upset. Rehearsal festivals are notorious for running behind schedule. That’s why they happen.” 

“Well that’s reassuring at least.” 

“The only thing we are waiting on is Miril. Once we get word she’s in place, you can begin the rehearsal.” 

Roshaun nodded his understanding. 

It wasn’t too long until a servant entered the room bowing and bringing news that they could now begin the proceedings. 

Nelaid slipped out the side exit so as to mingle with the crowd. Roshaun waited a moment or two before making his own exit out the main doors. His presence instantly quiets the room. Most of the people here tonight are well-to-do, so they’ve all seen him before, but for most of them it’s their first time seeing him as king. He stands straight and lets them judge him for a moment. Though he makes no physical movements, he casts his gaze across the room. In the back corner is the figure he’s looking for.

She’s comically short in comparison to the Wellakhit in attendance, but the look in her eyes is twice as fierce. Her gown is a deep green and inlaid with jewels to make her look important. He can barely see her and he knows she’s by far the most beautiful person in the room. He only manages to tear his eyes from her because he’s expected to be running the event. 

“Good evening, people of Wellakh. We welcome you tonight to the rehearsal dinner for _ Thajj _ . You will be informed of your seating arrangement by placemarkers set at the table. This will be the same seat you will enjoy during tomorrow night’s festivities and as such, there will be many open places for the citizens who have won the lottery and will be attending tomorrow. There will be a brief opportunity for those who are interested to partake in a dance, and the _ aquyanth _section has been forgone entirely. Without further ado, please, be seated.”

They all still wait for him to take his own seat first before moving, a traditional, if unintelligent, practice. Once he is looking out over the group from his throne at the head of the table, people begin searching for their place. Part of the reason for these rehearsals is to make palace life look intimidating to those random citizens. Everyone else knows where to go and how to act already and they are in the dark. Supposedly, this makes the citizens believe they would be incapable of ruling themselves and thereby discourages revolt. 

He’s always been doubtful of its effectiveness, but it’s still good to appear as though you know what you’re doing when you’re trying to look powerful. Of course, it would be equally as detrimental for Roshaun to mess up during this rehearsal. There are only a handful of people out in the crowd who actually support him. 

Everyone does seem to find their seats eventually. All the seats nearest to Roshaun are empty, being saved for the citizens who will be in attendance tomorrow evening. The seats by his parents are also fairly empty. Dairine is further down the table, though, and almost all the seats by her are filled. 

When the meal is first served, there is relative silence in the room, but gradually conversations start. Dairine seems to be bearing the brunt of the questions, and even those not asking are rather blatantly eavesdropping on the conversation. Roshaun, curious and concerned, decides to do the same. He does silently ask permission before crashing her mind, though.

“I had heard a rumor that you were abducted earlier today. Is that true?”

“Respectfully, ma’am, if that were true, I doubt anyone would expect me to be in attendance tonight.”

“But that doesn’t answer her question,” another voice pressed.

“There was a slight miscommunication where I made an abrupt departure earlier. Someone took advantage of that and began telling others that I had been abducted. Since I had to leave so suddenly, I didn’t leave a message saying that I had left, which sparked some concern, but the issue was cleared up quickly.”

“Why did you leave?” 

Roshaun can feel her scrambling for an answer, but she lands on one with surprising speed, “there were some people who needed to see me.”

“People more important than the Sunlord?”

Roshaun feels her fear at having implied the wrong thing, but again she surprises him with her quick thinking, “there is no one, save for the Powers That Be, who is important enough for me to not fulfill my duties to the Sunlord. When I left, I left in good faith that any diplomatic services I provide to the Sunlord and Wellakh would not be needed. And should they be needed, I am prepared to be immediately available.” 

“What is it you do as a diplomat here?”

“I consult with the Guarantor That Was about star management for the betterment of my home planet and in return facilitate rehabilitation efforts for the burned side of Wellakh.”

“What does that mean exactly?” a haughty voice questions.

“Well, my native planet is home to many different kinds of plant life, some of which may be compatible with the harsher environment of the burned side. I have colleagues who are working diligently to attempt to cross breed Wellakhit species with plants from my planet to create plant life that is still Wellakhit but that may survive the harsher conditions.”

“So how often do you work with the Sunlord?”

“Most of my diplomatic work is with the Guarantor That Was. While I greatly admire the Sunlord, his excellency has many people who do work for him, and I am simply one of that number.” She focuses on a technicality. They do wizardry work together all the time.

“But you were at his side for his first public appearance as Sunlord.”

“That’s true. It was he who presented me with the opportunity for my work here.” Another technicality. By leaving behind the sunstone, he had given her a reason to return to his planet, but it was his parents who asked her to stay and work with the simulator. 

“And what of the rumors that you are trying to seduce the King so you may bear his children and force him into giving you a place as his Queen?”

Roshaun stood suddenly, “and now the hour has come for dancing. If all the guests would move to the Throne Hall through those doors, a band is playing for your enjoyment.” 

_ How are you doing? _

_ I’m fine. You worry too much. _

_ If you slipped out now, no one would notice. Dancing is not something you should be doing. _

_ I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m the second most popular person here. _

_ That man will be dealt with. _

_ It’s not a big deal. I knew those rumors existed. You knew those rumors existed. They’re not true and we both know that so there’s nothing to worry about. I’m fine. _

_ It’s perfectly fine to sit on the edges during the dancing, you know. Most un-unionbonded Wellakhit do. _

_ I know how dances work, Roshaun. _

_ Fine. Just please tell me if anything gets worse. _

_ I will. _

He doubted it. 

~*~  
  


Three hours later, Roshaun’s doubts were proven true. Dairine and his Mother has barricaded themselves inside Roshaun’s bathroom, and Roshaun was anxiously pacing outside the door, waiting for someone to tell him what was going on. Dairine and his mother has left the rehearsal very abruptly once it ended, and though he had been aching to follow them, he was forced to wait a respectable time for a few select people to say their good nights. Most everyone who had wanted to talk to him had done so during the dancing, as the Sunlord did no dance unless he had a queen to dance with. 

By the time he had made it back to his room, where his mother had silently told him to meet them, they had locked the door and water was running. He had been standing outside agitated for nearly ten minutes and was close to simply breaking the door down. 

Before that drastic measure could be taken, though, his mother opened the bathroom door and lead a shaking, soaked Dairine into the room. Her fiery red hair hung limply around her face, and she looked paler than before. Her eyes were red from tears and her lips were blue with cold. She was also clad in only a towel, which he tried very hard not to think about too much, especially considering the much more pressing matters. 

“Dairine is going to have to borrow some of your sleep garments as she doesn’t have any of her own. She’ll be staying the night in your pup tent because your room is much more secure than her own, and we don’t want servants seeing her spending the night and starting rumors.”

Roshaun motioned his consent, “yes, that’s sensible.” 

His mother headed over to his armoire and pulled out a pair of sleeping garments, a pair with a tie. 

“Here you are, _ mhijha _. Why don’t you just head into the bathroom to put these on. I must be going to conference with my husband about tomorrow’s events, but Roshaun will be here should you need anything.” 

“Thank you so much Lady Miril, and I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize tekeh. None of this is your fault.”

His mother swept from the room elegantly, leaving just Dairine and Roshaun. “I’m just gonna-” Dairine said, motioning towards the bathroom.

“Yes, you do that,” Roshaun said, picking out a set of garments for himself. 

When Dairine emerges from the adjoining room, it’s almost timidly. His clothes are comically large on her, but her face has settled into a more normal expression. “How do I look?” she asks, doing a little half-twirl.

“Great,” he answers, trying not to betray just how wholeheartedly he means it. Frankly, she looks adorable. Her hair is still damp from whatever happened in the bathroom, and the sleeves of his shirt hang down way past her hands so that she has to keep pulling them up. His heart does a funny little dance at the sight. 

“Well I must say, that’s one of the most ridiculous outfits I’ve ever seen you wear and I’ve seen you in those horrendous floppy T-Shirts.”

“Hey!” He feigns hurt, but truthfully he’s just relieved to see her with some of her fire back.

“Well, I mean, look at it. The gold is actually hurting my eyes. Is there some rule that you must do life honor even in your bedclothes?”

“No. I have plenty of colors of clothing, thank you. Gold is simply traditional.”

“Couldn’t have you breaking tradition now, could we?” 

“Indeed we could not. ‘Twould be perilous.”

“Listen to yourself. ‘’Twould.’ What are you, from the 18th century?”  
“Formality is not something to be mocked.”   
“It is when it deserves mocking.”

He shakes his head and turns his back on her, frustrated. He crosses to a closet. “Is there a particular blanket you want?”  
She moves towards him, but trips over the long legs of his pants. He laughs at her as she stands, glare already in place. “It’s not my fault you’re ridiculously tall.”   
“Nor mine that you’re so short,” he holds up two blankets. 

She feels them both, “the blue one, thanks.”

“What about a pillow?” he asks.

“Don’t you already have this stuff in there?”  
“Yes.They just aren’t as nice as the ones I have for my room.”

“I’m good with whatever, seriously.” 

He grabs one of his nicer pillows anyway, and leads leads the way to the entrance of the pup tent. When he enters, a ‘light’ flickers on. It was actually the result of a rather ingenious spell that detected wizardly presence and adjusted to what the wizard specified. Right now, he had it at what he would consider normal light quality. He lowered it a bit nonverbally, though, knowing that Dairine had less tolerance for light than him. He tossed the blanket over the bed neatly and placed the pillow amongst the others. 

“Right. Thanks,” says Dairine.

“My pleasure.”

She pulls back the covers and stretches out on the bed. He turns back towards the exit and crosses the space. 

“Roshaun?” she calls.

“Yes?”

“Could you maybe stay here?” Her voice trails off towards the end. 

He turns back to look at her and there is a real vulnerability in her eyes. He crosses the space once more and stops when he reaches the bed, “you’re sure?”

“Yes. I don’t…I can’t be alone.” 

“Only if you’re sure,” he checks again, slipping off his sandals. 

“Well if it’s okay with you. I don’t want to overstep.”

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he climbs under the covers with her, dimming the light so it’s just bright enough he can see her, figuring complete darkness is not something she desires at the moment. The moment he climbs in, her face softens, as if a great weight had been lifted off her. For a moment, neither of them speaks.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, “I just don’t want to be alone.”

“Whatever you need,” his tone matches hers, “earlier with my mother...what happened?”

She shivers, “a flashback. She put me under cold water to help pull me out of it. I’m not sure if it helped or not.” 

“What did he do to you?” The question is more rhetorical than anything, but brief images flash across his mind. He’s not sure she meant to share them, but even just the short flashes look terrifying.

“He made me realize a lot of things,” Dairine says, and reaches out a hand to trace the side of his face. He leans into her touch nearly unconsciously. “I’ve been taking a lot of things for granted. My family. My friends. Even you, though not to the same extent.” The unspoken _ because I lost you once _ hovers in the air. 

“I have as well,” he confesses, “when I heard what has happened, when that horrible man sent me those photos and videos of you…” he trails off, “it was fear unlike anything I’d ever experienced.”

“We’ve been so stupid,” she tells him softly.

“I know,” he tells her honestly, voice also at a whisper. 

Their eyes meet for a brief moment and then their lips do the same. Dairine pulls back just a little and gives him a soft smile, and then this time he closes the distance. Their second kiss lasts much longer than the first, and they’re both more sure now. Dairine threads one of her hands through his hair and he snakes his around her waist. Their other hands are clasped together, though he can’t remember when that happened now. 

He’s not quite sure if it’s been minutes or hours when Dairine pulls back, yawning, “sorry,” she blushes, “it’s been a long day.”

“It’s okay,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to her hair, “no one can fault you for being tired. Especially not after what you’ve gone through.” 

“I know. But this, right now, right here, feels pretty close to perfect. I don’t eat to miss it.”

“You don’t have to. You have me, whenever you want.”

She smiles at him, “same.”

Then she laughs, “god, when did I turn into such a sap?”

He raises a brow at her, “probably around the same time I did.”

“True enough,” she snuggles into his side and lays her head on his chest, “goodnight, Roshaun.”

“Goodnight, Dairine.” 


End file.
